Drug-ring Leader Enters Guilty Plea

September 24, 1985

William Haley, 44, of Antioch, accused of being the leader of a seven-member drug-smuggling ring that used airplanes to import nearly $3 million worth of marijuana from Colombia, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court under the so-called ``drug kingpin statute,`` a federal law designed to give harsh sentences to convicted drug chiefs. Haley, brother of former Antioch Mayor Michael Haley, pleaded guilty to the charge as part of a plea agreement with Assistant U.S. Atty. Ira Raphaelson. Under the agreement, Raphaelson will recommend that U.S. District Judge James Holderman sentence Haley to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 18 years in prison. Haley also faces a maximum fine of $100,000. Haley and 10 others were indicted in July on charges brought by members of the federal Justice Department`s Drug Task Force in Chicago. They were accused of operating two drug-smuggling rings in Lake and Du Page Counties that imported tons of marijuana worth $5 million from South America. All but one of the defendants has pleaded guilty.